“Gaia Blu”, the oceanographic vessel of the National Research Council (CNR), left the port of Crotone at the end of March to start the “ECOREST” expedition designed to acquire new knowledge on deep-sea habitats, which are especially vulnerable, in 3 strategic areas of the Mediterranean Sea: south Tyrrhenian Sea, northern Ionian Sea and south Adriatic Sea. Several CNR institutes (Ismar, Isp and Irbim) are involved in the study, as well